The pilled gray four-piece bedsheet set had been swapped for a warm yellow set, and a plate of still-steaming pork chops with greens sat on the kitchen counter.

The old, dim bulb had been replaced with a new one, its warm light filling the 300-square-foot basement.

In this freshly made-over "home", I was standing on a stool, changing the curtains. When I heard the door, I turned my head and gave Savannah a small smile.

"You're back. Dig in while the food's hot. The boss at the market gave it to me for free. These things didn't cost much, either. They're all bargain finds."

Savannah's eyes turned slightly red as she scanned the room over and over, taking in every object. The large blocks of yellow filled her eyes, and the strong visual impact made her chest rise and fall. Her eyes grew even redder.

I seized the moment and continued, "Sorry. I went ahead and decided on warm yellow without asking you first. I just figured it was something you would like. I changed your pillowcase, too. See if you like it."

She lowered her head, staring straight at the pillowcase as she walked toward it. All of a sudden, she stepped on something and lost her balance, falling backward.

I rushed over and caught her firmly before she hit the floor. She instinctively grabbed the front of my shirt, and I used that momentum to lean in closer to her.

I saw the look of relief in her eyes. "Thanks, Chase."

I let out a breath, but my gaze slid down along the loose collar of her T-shirt, tracing the hollow of her chest. I swallowed.

"Savannah." It was my first time calling her name in such a low, husky voice. "Can I?"

She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing red. She buried herself against my neck. "Yeah."

I'd guessed right. She liked "being saved", especially when it was a typical "knight in shining armor swooped in to save damsel in distress" sort of situation.

That night, Savannah and I went from being husband and wife only on paper to being a real couple in every sense. I didn't change my hairstyle, and once the lights were off, it was my name that she called.

In the middle of the night, I woke up to silence.

Morgan had bombarded my phone with messages.

"Why aren't you answering me? Don't tell me you've slept with that piece of trash, Chase!

"Get a grip! There's no way Mom and Dad will ever agree to you marrying her. If you don't want them to hunt you down, then divorce her and come home. Look at the five women I offered to introduce to you—any one of them is better than Savannah!"

The last message sounded panicked. "You'd better do the smart thing and stop being so ungrateful. If you don't come home, don't blame me for not covering for you if Mom and Dad show up!"

Savannah's steady breathing fanned over my chest. The twin bed couldn't fit two people, so we had no choice but to press tightly against each other.

There was no way she'd truly fallen in love with me in just one week. Having someone stir the pot was actually a good thing.

I replied, "I'm not going back. I love her. Even if Mom and Dad disapprove, I'm going to spend my whole life with her."

…

A few days later, I rented a stall in a busy part of town to sell crepes.

At first, I didn't tell Savannah. I still went to my day job as usual, then braved the freezing night wind to run the stall. I made sure I was home on time to cook for her.

She was still busy with her own things. She told me she was job-hunting, but the comments said she was still trying to find a way to redo the paternity test.

[The Reed family is looking everywhere for their real heiress, but the female lead is still grinding this hard. With that kind of drive, no wonder she will become the richest woman in the future.]

The richest woman, huh?

I paused halfway through flipping a crepe and almost laughed out loud.

…

Half a month later, Morgan sent me a photo of me at the stall. "Found you. You're done for."

Perfect timing. I almost burst out laughing again.

That night, I deliberately returned home an hour late. As soon as I stepped in, I let out a weary yawn. Then, I pushed up my sleeves, revealing the ugly, angry chilblains on both hands.

"Sorry I'm late. It was pretty busy at the… convenience store. I'll go make dinner now."

I kept my back to Savannah, but I could feel her gaze fixed on my fingers. I acted like I didn't want her to notice anything and hurriedly tugged my sleeves down.

She was quiet for a long moment before finally looking away.

…

The next night, I went out to run my stall as usual. Morgan showed up with Mom and Dad in tow, all three of them storming over with ugly looks on their faces.

"We've finally found you! Real bold of you, huh? Getting married behind our backs!"

They overturned my stall. Batter and toppings spilled all over the ground.

Morgan stood there in his expensive suit, watching the chaos with barely concealed glee. "I warned you, Chase. You're the one who didn't listen."

Dad held out a hand impatiently. "Come on, hand it over. Where are the wedding gifts from your marriage?"

"Dad, Savannah Reed is just a fake heiress," Morgan cut in. "She owes the Reed family several million dollars. How could she possibly have any wedding gifts for him?"

I stayed where I was. I was terrified they would hit me, but I still stood my ground. "So what if there weren't any wedding gifts? It's not like I married her for her money!"

That set both my parents off. Dad kicked me hard in the stomach. "It's bad enough that you sneaked off and got married—you just had to make it worse by picking a broke nobody! We raised you for nothing!"

"You're coming home with us! Your brother has lined up a few sugar mommies for you. Marry into any one of their families, and we'll be set for years!"

Dad grabbed a fistful of my hair and started dragging me toward the car, ignoring my pained shouts. "Help! Let go of me!"

Morgan said, "Chase, just be good. We're doing what's best for you. That Savannah Reed is useless. If you stay married to her, you'll—"

"Let him go!"

Right as half my body was shoved into the car, a long wooden pole came swinging down, whacking my parents. Before they could react, Savannah yanked me back out, her face flushed with anger. She shouted, "How dare you grab someone off the street with so many people watching?"

Morgan's face twisted in contempt. "Drop the act now that you're broke, Savannah! Or do you still think you're the Reed heiress?

"Then again, Chase has been wearing my hand-me-downs since he was a kid and eating my leftovers. And now, he even wants the woman I've cast aside. Honestly, you two really do make a perfect pair."

Savannah stiffened. I could feel her shock. Maybe she was stunned that the man she loved could say something that cruel, or maybe it was just the astonishment of hearing someone else verify what a miserable past I had.

Slowly, her grip on my hand tightened. "No matter what you say, Chase and I are legally married. We're husband and wife. If you dare lay a hand on my husband again, I'll call the cops."

Husband and wife. It was the first time she'd ever said those words. My throat itched with excitement, but I forced myself to hold it in.

Once my family finally backed off, scared by the threat of having the police called, I pulled Savannah into my arms and gently cupped her cheek. "I'm fine, so don't worry. I'll just move my stall somewhere else tomorrow. And I've made a lot lately. I'll keep a thousand bucks for our daily expenses and transfer the rest to you."

Savannah tilted her head up. Her hand covered the back of mine as her eyes gleamed with heartache. Her voice broke as soon as she said, "Thank you, Chase."

I held her tighter. "There's no need for thank-yous between us."

It was too early for you to thank me, Savannah. It wouldn't be too late to do that once you had returned to the Reeds and become the richest woman around.

…

After I moved my stall elsewhere, Savannah started coming with me almost every day. We were making more and more money.

With just one day left before the date the comments had mentioned, I transferred money to Savannah again.

"Why are you giving me everything again? Didn't you say you were going to keep some for our daily expenses?" she asked.

I secretly showed her a photo on my phone of a stash I'd hidden in a stairwell—pieces of sheet metal. "I bought some metal sheets from the recycling center and picked up a secondhand tricycle.

"I'll weld it all together tomorrow, and after that, I can ride around and set up shop wherever I want. I've been thinking… Selling crepes isn't going to last forever. I want to get into hot dogs instead."

Savannah ate the peanuts I shelled for her. She wasn't really in the mood, but she still forced herself to chat with me. "Why did you pick hot dogs?"

"Right after the SAT a few years back, I went out to sell toys. The stall next to me was selling hot dogs, and they made more in one month than I made in six," I explained.

She lowered her head and asked absent-mindedly, "You didn't go to college after the SAT?"

I went quiet.

It took a while before she realized the shift in me. When she finally looked up, she saw the despondent look on my face.

"My family… doesn't need two college graduates," I murmured. That one sentence said more than a million.

Savannah grew even more upset. She walked over and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her cheek against my chest. "Chase, if I never pay off that debt for the rest of my life… maybe we should just split up…"

I panicked, then pushed her away and grabbed her wrist. "Savannah, are you dumping me?"

She shook her head hard, then sighed. "No, I just… I don't want you suffering with me for the rest of your life."

I cut her off, "I don't feel like I'm suffering. Marrying you is the best decision I've made in these 20 or so years I've lived."

Her eyes grew even redder, and I saw nothing but myself in them.

The comments exploded.

[Don't lose hope! You're the female lead! Your grandfather will be here to take you home tomorrow!]

[The Reed family will give you 500 million dollars in compensation, and that's not even counting the hundreds of billions of dollars you'll inherit later. All of that is yours!]

Hundreds of billions of dollars!

To me, that was an astronomical number.

The corner of my eye twitched like crazy as I forced myself to stay calm. In the end, it all condensed into a single tear that fell onto the back of her hand.

"Savannah, please don't leave me. I'll work even harder to make more money. I'll take care of you. I won't be your burden," I begged.

After a long silence, she placed a hand over her chest. "Chase, you're suffering with me now. I swear that if I ever manage to turn my life around, I will never betray you."

I blinked, then nodded hard. I'd waited 39 days to hear those words. Right now, the tears running down my face were the most genuine I'd ever shed.

That night, we didn't sleep at all. We went at it all night. I pinned her beneath me as she called my name over and over again.

…

On the morning of the 40th day, I got up to make breakfast like always. Before leaving for work, I smiled at Savannah and told her we could weld the metal sheets together after work that night.

She smiled and nodded, looping her arm through mine as we walked out of the basement.

Several Maybachs were parked outside. The viewers screamed in the comments, and I did the same in my heart. Still, I instinctively pulled Savannah behind me, whispering warily, "Are they here to collect on the debt? Go out the back. I'll stall them."

She didn't move. She just stared at the cars, looking confused.

The door of the middle car opened, and an elderly man stepped out. His hands shook as he held out a paternity test report.

Savannah's eyes widened. Then, she grabbed my hand. "Chase, I'm still a Reed. I can go home now. No—we can go home now!"

I stared back at her, my eyes just as wide in astonishment. But deep inside, I was thinking that the past 20-plus years of hardship and these past 40 days in the freezing cold hadn't been for nothing.

At least, all my suffering was about to pay off.

But before I could say anything, footsteps came pounding toward us. Morgan panted and pointed at me, shouting, "Savannah, don't let Chase fool you! He already knew you were the real Reed heiress the day he married you in my place!"